His third base coach and outfield coordinator played a big role in that rise.
Kyle Hudson works with Duran daily, tapping into his elite speed on the base paths and making major improvements in his outfield defense. The two formed quite a bond in recent years, which was fully displayed at Fenway Park. Through his work with Hudson, the Red Sox have a star in Duran.
“I told him this at the end of the year, I have very high expectations for the players that I work with,” Hudson told NESN.com during “Fenway Fest” Saturday. “Fielders and baserunners and all that. Maybe even higher expectations at times that frustrate a lot of them. He might be the only guy who’s ever exceeded my expectations. His ability to turn it around that quickly and take in all the information. Be able to use all the things that we worked on, translate to the game and translate to production. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a transition from where he was to the elite level he played at last year.”
“He might be the only guy who’s ever exceeded my expectations.”
Kyle Hudson on Jarren Duran
There are positives and negatives to how hard Duran’s been on himself to this point in his baseball life. Hudson believes that an internal lack of satisfaction should drive the Red Sox outfielder to award-winning efforts for years to come.
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“‘You should be proud that you got yourself to the point that you got in the conversation,’” Hudson shared from his message to Duran. “‘You look back at the year before that, you weren’t even close to that conversation.’ How he is as a person day in and day out, playing every single day.”
Hudson refused to credit himself for his work with Duran and redirected any praise back to the player’s work ethic. The Red Sox believed in Duran’s potential throughout his rise in the minors, where different tools defined different years of his development. The 2023 season brought flashes, but the 2024 season showed a sustained product that sports cannot ignore.
“He put himself in that position, so I’m very proud of him,” Hudson said. “It’s all credit to him. It’s not a credit to anybody else. He did all of it. He’s going to continue to get better because of how he is.”
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Hudson added: “He’s put himself in the position he’s had because of how hard he works and the type of kid he is. It’s fun to see him reap the benefits with the All-Star Game. The Gold Glove finalist coming from what he was before. It’s an amazing thing to watch.”
